Sheffield United likely to look for alternatives if transfer agreement with 25-year-old can’t be made | OneFootball

Sheffield United are willing to move for other targets if a John Souttar deal cannot be agreed.

The Blades were linked with a move for the Hearts player, but boss Paul Heckingbottom has revealed that his recruitment team have discussed other targets.

Paul Mitchell and Jared Dublin were both two of the first people Heckingbottom spoke to when he started as permanent manager in November.

“It will be non-stop until the end of January,” said Heckingbottom, via the Sheffield Star.

“We started early on. I tried to get up to speed, speaking to the squads and Mitch and Jared.

“A lot of work was done and a lot of conversations have been had. The easy bit is getting the targets.

“Getting the deal over the line is the tricky bit.”

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Souttar’s contract with Hearts expires at the end of the season and he may look to move on from the Scottish club.

However, multiple other Championship clubs have been linked with a move for the player, including Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City.

Heckingbottom took over the Sheffield United job on a permanent basis on November 25, following the dismissal of Slavisa Jokanovic. He won his first game in charge, a 2-0 win over Bristol City.

However, Covid-19 disruption has meant that his side have only played two league games since then, winning both.

Sheffield United lost their last game. Wolves dumped them out of the FA Cup with a 3-0 win in Molineux.

Their next game comes against Derby County at Pride Park on January 15.

The Verdict

It’s a busy time of year in the Championship as every team looks for something that they hope can give them the edge in pursuit of the play-offs or automatic promotion.

With so few players actually available on the market, it is inevitable that teams will be competing over the same signings.

This is why it is imperative for a club such as Sheffield United to consider multiple targets in any position they want to strengthen. Getting a free run at a player unopposed is just so unlikely.